Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Commuting by bike
My commute home yesterday (by car) took 37 minutes. It's the second time it has taken over 35 minutes to get home. This is noteworthy because my slowest commute by bicycle is 35 minutes. There is no more miserable feeling that realizing that not only would commuting by bike be better for me and better for the planet - and faster.
So of course I took the bike this morning -- and paid for it with a flat tire. This is self inflicted because I was riding the a carbon wonderbike with handmade $60 tires instead of my steel commuter bike with it's bulletproof wheels and tires. I'll be back on the steel bike tomorrow.
So of course I took the bike this morning -- and paid for it with a flat tire. This is self inflicted because I was riding the a carbon wonderbike with handmade $60 tires instead of my steel commuter bike with it's bulletproof wheels and tires. I'll be back on the steel bike tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Coffee Duck for Nespresso
If you own a Nespresso brand espresso machine there is a new part available to allow you use your own coffee. It is a reusable capsule that is form and fit compatible with the small plastic Nespresso capsules.
It's available on Ebay and for less from a number of web sites in Europe like this one.
I also noticed that Nespresso coffee capsules are now available on Ebay although at a significantly higher price thatn direct from Nespresso.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Castle Rock - The other one
The Fitness Woman and I tasted some of the Great Outdoors this weekend by hiking and pretending to climb rocks at Castle Rock State Park.I managed to complete the trip without getting lost or bleeding so it was a great success. I almost got lost, but through sheer luck ended up where we were headed. Maybe next time.
Note the genuine Colorado style boots. Critical while hiking in the cold and snowy Rockies but a little overkill for California's Coastal Range and useless for bouldering. I'll be going back to the trail-running shoes I have long preferred for this kind of hiking.
Personal Best
I set a new personal best time coming to work this morning. 23:57 or 18.6 MPH trimming almost 20 seconds off the previous time. I sustained 24 Mph for over 5 miles. I think that taking three days off the bike really paid off.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
How an idea becomes a company...
The Silicon Valley buzzes with an entrepreneurial energy unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I’ve been back in the valley for 6 weeks now and its still shocking.
I left an executive level position with a Fortune 50 sized service provider to join a 4-person start up and want to document some of the thing I learn and share some of the experiences. Few people witness the birth of a company so I wanted to share some of my experiences during this exciting time.
How we got our start.
In our case, one of my co-founders was actually hired by a Venture Capital (VC) company specifically to identify a new business opportunity and create a business to address it. This role is commonly called an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).
The VC provides the EIR with office space, a modest salary and access to industry contact to conduct their research. VCs also designates a General Partner (one of the senior leaders at the VC) to mentor the EIR during the development of their plans. This process can take months and some EIR’s finish their time without ever finding the right opportunity.
When an EIR does identify a business opportunity, they must develop a plan to address it; what is the exact problem, how can it be solved and how much money can be made solving it. When the EIR is satisfied that they understand the problem, can create a viable solution and understand the micro- and macro-economic impacts they present their plan to their mentor. It can take a number of attempts to convince them that the idea is sound.
Once your partner is satisfied, they typically have to recruit another General Partner to co-sponsor the investment. Once the sponsor designates the Second the EIR pitches the detailed idea to the entire partnership of the VC. This is a key make-or-break event for all start-ups. By this point the pitch has been vetted pretty thoroughly, and stand a good chance, but all it takes is a one partner to kill it.
In our case, we initially asked for “seed capital” to conduct the additional research necessary to confirm that the solution we propose to use can deliver the performance we need to work. To do this we need to develop a prototype and measure it’s performance. A Seed typically takes the form of a loan that will be rolled into the first formal round of funding. Seed rounds range from a few thousand dollars to over a million depending on the amount of technical research needed.
The seed round is expected to lead to a Series A investment by the VC, as long as the solution proves viable, but not all of them do. Many times the idea simply doesn’t works or doesn’t deliver the expected performance and value. Sometimes the cost of the solution is more then expected or requires new methods that are unlikely to develop.
Seed rounds are expected to provide enough funding to complete the planning. Running out of seed capitol before answering the questions doesn’t bode well for someone trying to borrow money to build and bring it to market within an agreed upon time and an agreed upon cost basis.
We need to achieve a couple of key goals before we can approach our VC for a Series-A investment. First we need to complete the prototype of our device and confirm it can achieve the required performance and second we need to get confirmation from a few key prospective customers that our solution is something they would deploy assuming it delivers the features we are promising. The next few months should be interesting as we build and test the prototype and meet with industry leaders to validate our plan.
I left an executive level position with a Fortune 50 sized service provider to join a 4-person start up and want to document some of the thing I learn and share some of the experiences. Few people witness the birth of a company so I wanted to share some of my experiences during this exciting time.
How we got our start.
In our case, one of my co-founders was actually hired by a Venture Capital (VC) company specifically to identify a new business opportunity and create a business to address it. This role is commonly called an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).
The VC provides the EIR with office space, a modest salary and access to industry contact to conduct their research. VCs also designates a General Partner (one of the senior leaders at the VC) to mentor the EIR during the development of their plans. This process can take months and some EIR’s finish their time without ever finding the right opportunity.
When an EIR does identify a business opportunity, they must develop a plan to address it; what is the exact problem, how can it be solved and how much money can be made solving it. When the EIR is satisfied that they understand the problem, can create a viable solution and understand the micro- and macro-economic impacts they present their plan to their mentor. It can take a number of attempts to convince them that the idea is sound.
Once your partner is satisfied, they typically have to recruit another General Partner to co-sponsor the investment. Once the sponsor designates the Second the EIR pitches the detailed idea to the entire partnership of the VC. This is a key make-or-break event for all start-ups. By this point the pitch has been vetted pretty thoroughly, and stand a good chance, but all it takes is a one partner to kill it.
In our case, we initially asked for “seed capital” to conduct the additional research necessary to confirm that the solution we propose to use can deliver the performance we need to work. To do this we need to develop a prototype and measure it’s performance. A Seed typically takes the form of a loan that will be rolled into the first formal round of funding. Seed rounds range from a few thousand dollars to over a million depending on the amount of technical research needed.
The seed round is expected to lead to a Series A investment by the VC, as long as the solution proves viable, but not all of them do. Many times the idea simply doesn’t works or doesn’t deliver the expected performance and value. Sometimes the cost of the solution is more then expected or requires new methods that are unlikely to develop.
Seed rounds are expected to provide enough funding to complete the planning. Running out of seed capitol before answering the questions doesn’t bode well for someone trying to borrow money to build and bring it to market within an agreed upon time and an agreed upon cost basis.
We need to achieve a couple of key goals before we can approach our VC for a Series-A investment. First we need to complete the prototype of our device and confirm it can achieve the required performance and second we need to get confirmation from a few key prospective customers that our solution is something they would deploy assuming it delivers the features we are promising. The next few months should be interesting as we build and test the prototype and meet with industry leaders to validate our plan.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bay area espresso
Since the house needs a little electrical upgrade before we can use our machine I have been sampling a number of local shops to find good espresso. Today was a notable success as I sampled a spectacular shot at Caffe del Doge in Palo Alto.
Prepared in the classic Italian style, the results were pure Rome; a light tan crema over smokey chocolate syrup that smells of fresh straw and licorice. Not my favorite style but very well done and a real treat after weeks of mediocre attempts by my regular barrista.
Prepared in the classic Italian style, the results were pure Rome; a light tan crema over smokey chocolate syrup that smells of fresh straw and licorice. Not my favorite style but very well done and a real treat after weeks of mediocre attempts by my regular barrista.
toothbrushes
I balked at paying $6.95 for a pair of name-brand toothbrushes at the store yesterday. All the ones with stiff bristles are only available as a pair. Instead I chose a single $2.25 replica brand. I just used it for the first time. I shoulda spent the $7. Lesson learned.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Groceries
A strange thing has happened since our return to California. After years of reliably shopping at traditional grocery stores, we have started shopping for groceries at a small ethnic food store near our house called Oakmont Produce. This is strange because this small store has proven to be a complete replacement for our full-size Nob Hill and Safeway stores.
Oakmont offers better quality food at better prices. While they lack the broad selection of a larger store, they have a very complete selection of the simple ethnic foods that we are now eating. And their selection of local fruit and vegetables is much better than the traditional stores.
It's hard to imagine that a small store in a strip-mall could so easily a major grocery store, but for us it certainly has.
Oakmont offers better quality food at better prices. While they lack the broad selection of a larger store, they have a very complete selection of the simple ethnic foods that we are now eating. And their selection of local fruit and vegetables is much better than the traditional stores.
It's hard to imagine that a small store in a strip-mall could so easily a major grocery store, but for us it certainly has.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Prospect, Fremont Older, Montebello, Redwood Gulch, 9
I rode the above loop on Sunday. It's a really nice cross ride from the house. Prospect has a wide bike path the entire distance. Each time I climb Montebello Road I'm always surprised at the number of cyclists I see descending on mountain bikes because compared with the Stevens Canyon descent, the Montebello side descent is really boring. The climb is just like I remember, maybe a little longer, but mostly the same. The final tally is 4 Hrs, 33 Miles, 4k Feet of vertical.
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